The Ultimate College Football Road Trip: 106 Days, 35 Games and 25,000 Miles

Many college football fans are lucky to attend one game each season. Others might find time and money for two or three, maybe even four or five — one or two of which requires travel.

Weak. Let's do 35 games in 31 different cities over 15 weeks.

The 2017 Ultimate College Football Road Trip will give you a once-in-a-lifetime college football experience that includes more games in one season than most fans attend in a lifetime.

The trip begins in Fort Collins, Colo., where Colorado State opens their new on-campus stadium against Oregon State on Thursday, Aug. 26. It's the start of a 106-day journey that features 35 games for 49 different teams at 32 stadiums in 31 cities. We will travel 24,379 miles — plus side excursions — and driving time will be roughly 377 hours, which will incur a $3,000 gas bill.

MORE: Ranking the Top 100 College Football Teams for 2017

Atlanta is the most-visited city with three stops (two different stadiums), and Alabama, Ohio State and Temple are tied for the most appearances with three. The Buckeyes are the only team with multiple home games (two). AAC teams have the most number of home games (six), followed by the ACC and Big Ten (five). The Big 12 is the only conference without a true home game — Texas and Oklahoma play at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in Week 7. 

Here's a interactive map of all 35 stops. Scroll down for a week-by-week breakdown.

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Week 1

The opening Saturday of college football isn't laced with big-time, Power Five matchups. It does, however, feature an intriguing Power Five at Group of Five game with Oregon State at Colorado State, when the Rams will open a gorgeous 41,000-seat stadium.

From there, a long drive awaits to Bloomington, Ind., where a rare Week 1 Big Ten opener features Indiana and Ohio State. And finally we head south to Atlanta, where the biggest game of Week 1 awaits — Alabama at Florida State — at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tennessee and Georgia Tech play at the same venue two days later.

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Week 2

Week 2 begins with another Power Five at Group of Five game with Oklahoma State traveling to South Alabama, where good teams have struggled in years' past at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Then comes either an overnight or early-morning drive from Mobile to Columbus, Ohio, to see Oklahoma at Ohio State in a game with possible playoff implications.

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Week 3

UMass might be one of the worst teams in the FBS and Temple is replacing a head coach and army of key contributors from last year's 10-win team. Nonetheless, Philly is a short drive from Columbus and you get to see how the Owls will look under new head coach Geoff Collins.

Get to Louisville on Friday and embrace the raucous weekend atmosphere for the Cardinals' rematch with Clemson. Passing on Texas-USC isn't ideal but Clemson-Louisville is the must-watch game of Week 3.

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Week 4

Kudos to those who boldly predicted you'd not only see Temple twice this season (keep reading to find out about a third Owls' game) but twice in two weeks. They visit USF in a game that will be important for the Group of Five's New Year's Six bid.

We could head north to Penn State at Iowa or to Oklahoma State for the Cowboys' game vs. TCU but it's time to reward Colorado and Washington for their hugely successful 2016 campaigns. 

Buckle down for a 26-hour drive from Tampa to Boulder.

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Week 5

After a few extra days enjoying the fall weather in Colorado, it's a long drive to Pullman, where playoff-contending USC makes their first appearance with a Week 5 trip to Washington State. Sam Darnold and Luke Falk will battle in one of the season's premiere quarterback matchups.

The Pac-12 tour continues with a short 432-mile drive southwest to Oregon State to see the improving Beavers host Washington.

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Week 6

You have four days to make a cross-country trek from Oregon to North Carolina. The 2,878-mile journey is the longest of the season — by far — but you're rewarded with another chance to see Lamar Jackson, this time at North Carolina State.

Though the SEC must wait until October to get a home date, it's worth the wait with a mega matchup in Gainesville between Florida and LSU.

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Week 7

Enjoy a few days in South Florida before watching Miami host Georgia Tech on Thursday, Oct. 12, because there's a meaty drive to Dallas the next morning. 

Oklahoma makes their second and final appearance with a Week 7 neutral-site game vs. Texas. It's the only time we'll see the Longhorns all season.

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Week 8

For the second-straight week, we stay in the state and have four days to meander around Texas before a scintillating Group of Five matchup in Houston between the Cougars and Memphis. Both teams could be ranked and in contention for a big-time bowl berth.

Then it's a 1,474-mile drive back north to Pennsylvania, where Penn State's game with Michigan beats out a slew of other huge Week 8 matchups (e.g. Louisville at Florida State, Wyoming at Boise State).

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Week 9

South Alabama at Georgia State isn't the delectable late-October you expected but it's still worth stopping in Atlanta to see the Panthers' new stadium, a renovated Turner Field.

It's then back to Texas for the third-straight week to see another phenomenal Group of Five matchup, this time between Tulsa and SMU. Power Five head coaching lists will be laced with the name of Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery by now and Mustangs' receiver Courtland Sutton could be headed toward a first-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Another overnight or early-morning drive awaits. We're heading 1,000 miles north to Columbus to see the Nittany Lions for a second-straight week. This time they're visiting Ohio State.

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Week 10

MACtion week!

Minimal driving and four games await in Week 10 when you get three MAC matchups — all within 350 miles — followed by a trip to Tuscaloosa for Alabama vs. LSU.

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Week 11

A third-straight week with at least three games, Week 1 brings the first appearances for North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and yet another game for Temple. It's not imperative to drop by Cincinnati after Pittsburgh but it's worth seeing how Luke Fickell is progressing in his first season as head coach. 

Watching Washington at Stanford would be ideal instead of North Carolina-Pittsburgh but we must remain on the east coast for Florida State-Clemson on Saturday.

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Week 12

Conference USA gets their first game with a trip to Bowling Green, Ky., to see Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee in a game that might include 200 points and 2,000 yards.

We'll be making the overnight drive to Madison to be ready for Michigan at Wisconsin on Saturday.

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Week 13

Back south we go for the Egg Bowl, War of I-4 and the Iron Bowl during the final full week of the regular season. It's the first and only appearance for five of the six Week 13 teams.

We can only pray that the Alabama-Auburn matchup is for the SEC West title and/or spot in the College Football Playoff.

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Week 14

Weeks 14 comes with flexibility and the schedule will determined by which conference championships carry playoff implications. It's impossible to drive from the Pac-12 Championship in Santa Clara, Calif., to any of the other Power Five championships.

Use of a plane is permitted if necessary to see both the Pac-12 game and another championship. The Big Ten is simply a placeholder at this time.

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Week 15

The Army–Navy Game is the lone game in Week 15 and we'd have it no other way. One of the most unique sporting events in the world, the 118th meeting on Dec. 9 will be a spectacular end to a 15-week journey.